Pictures and Prophecies
by fanwriter1245
Summary: Part 1 of 3. When Elaine ends up staying with the Pevensies, she is suddenly whisked away to Narnia with them. She quickly finds out about a prophecy...a prophecy she isn't a part of. Elaine accompanies the others on their journey, all the while trying to find a purpose for her presence in Narnia. Along the way, she's also developing feelings for a certain older sibling. PeterxOC
1. Meeting the Pevensies

As Elaine pulled her bags into the train station, her heart was heavy. She was being sent away from her home and everything she knew to go live with complete strangers. She knew that it was because everyone wanted to keep the children safe from the raging war around them, but she would much rather stay with her mother.

"Do you have everything, darling?" her mother asked her, checking her daughter over one last time.

"I think so," Elaine responded, trying to be strong.

"I'm sure there will be other people where you're staying. A lot of people usually take in more than one child. I know that you'll make friends with them because you're a beautiful and wonderful girl."

"I'm going to miss you though."

"I'll miss you too."

Elaine felt tears come to her eyes, her attempts to push them back failing. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cry."

"Oh, don't apologize, Elaine!"

"But mum…I don't want to leave you."

Her mother pulled her into her arms and hugged her daughter tightly. "You're my brave 15-year-old girl, and I'm proud of you. Your father would be too. Remember, we will see him and each other again someday, no matter what happens. You know that." She pulled apart and gave her a pained smile. "Off you go. You don't want to miss the train."

Elaine grabbed her suitcase and began to head to the train as it whistled loudly, signaling there wasn't much time left to board. She took one look back at her mother and ran back to the safety of her arms.

"I love you, Mum."

"I love you too, Elaine."

She kissed her daughter's forehead before Elaine went back over to the train. Elaine handed the ticket to one of the workers before boarding the train and finding herself a place to sit. She found herself in a car with another girl and a young boy. They looked about the same age which had to be around nine or ten.

"Hello," she said politely. "May I join you?"

They both nodded so she took her suitcase and put it on the overhang above them. Then she sat down on the other seat across from them.

"My name's Elaine. What's yours?"

"I'm Aggie, and this is my brother, Warren," the girl said.

"It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too. Are you nervous?"

"Nervous about what?"

"Being away from your family and living with strangers."

"I suppose I'm a little nervous, but I don't want that to make this situation any harder than it already is. You want to know the secret to getting through it?" She pulled them in closer like it was the biggest secret in the world. "No matter what, you are always nice to everyone. Even if they aren't nice to you. Nice people are happy people. The happier you are, the more it will spread and you'll make everyone happy with you."

The two siblings smiled at her, quickly warming up to the girl they were sitting with.

The train ride was quite uneventful. Elaine made conversation with Aggie and Warren and helped them relax a little bit more. They ended up reaching their stop before her, so she helped them get their suitcases down from the overhang.

"Remember what I said," she told them as she gave them quick hugs. "Be kind."

"We will," Aggie smiled. "Good luck, Elaine!"

"Good luck to you too!"

She watched from her window as an older couple who must've been in their 60's picked up Aggie and Warren. Aggie shyly smiled up at them and said something that made the gentleman smile warmly. Warren offered the woman a flower. The couple began smiling and laughing as they escorted Aggie and Warren off to their home.

Elaine smiled as she watched the children with their new guardians, grateful that the young children were with people who were nice to them. But she would be lying if she said that it didn't make her more nervous about what the person she was living with would be like. Would they be like the couple? Or would they only be doing this because they were told to, and they hated children?

Her heart thumped in her chest as the train crawled on and on for several more hours. She took a book out of her suitcase to read, but she quickly found that she couldn't focus on the words when she was so nervous about what the future held.

Finally, it was time for her stop. She grabbed her suitcase from the overhang and disembarked from the train. To her surprise, four other children got off the train as well.

When they heard the sound of a car coming, they hurried to catch it, but it just ended up driving past them. Looking in both directions, there were no cars in sight.

"The Professor knew we were coming," the older girl said.

"Perhaps we've been incorrectly labeled," the younger boy added.

That was Elaine's biggest problem with this whole thing. Being labeled as if they were nothing more than a sack of luggage.

The sound of hoofbeats turned their attention to the right to find a woman coming up in a horse-drawn wagon.

"Mrs. Macready?" the older boy asked cautiously.

"I'm afraid so," the woman answered sternly. "Is this it then? Haven't you brought anything else?"

"No, ma'am. It's just us."

"Small favors."

The five of them got into the back wagon and headed to the house in silence. As they pulled up, Elaine's eyes widened. The house was absolutely huge!

Mrs. Macready stowed away the horse and the wagon and then escorted them inside.

"Professor Kirke is not accustomed to havin' children in his house. And as such, there are a few rules we need to follow. There will be no shoutin'. Or runnin'. No improper use of the dumbwaiter." The older girl reached out to touch one of the statues, but Mrs. Macready's sharp voice snapped, "NO touchin' of the historical artifacts!" The five children sighed, now realizing just what kind of place they were going to have to stay in for an indefinite amount of time. "And above all, there shall be no disturbin' of the Professor."

The woman showed each of them where they would be sleeping. The two boys slept in one room, while the two girls slept in another. Elaine had a room to herself.

She began to unpack her things when she felt tears began to slip down her cheeks. For a moment, she paused and sat on her new bed. It just wasn't fair that she had to be away from her mother and now live with four strangers, all of them siblings, and a housekeeper and a professor who didn't seem to really want them.

Composing herself once more and silently scolding herself for crying, she was reminded of what she said to Aggie and Warren on the train. Be kind. Nice people are happy people.

She finished unpacking her things and went to go get to know her new companions.

"Hello," she said as she poked her head through the door. "May I come in?"

"Of course," the older boy smiled. She felt her breath catch in her throat a bit. He was really, really cute.

"I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Elaine."

"I'm Peter, this is my sister Susan, and the other ones are Edmund and Lucy."

"It's nice to meet you all."

"Nice to meet you too," Susan said to her. "How old are you?"

"I'm fifteen."

"Oh, so you're Peter's age!"

Elaine smiled a little. "I should…go finish unpacking. I just wanted to say hello." She returned to her room and began putting away her clothes. For some reason, her face felt rather warm.

Maybe this whole thing wouldn't be as bad as she thought.

* * *

That night, after a very silent and awkward dinner at a table that was much too big for the few occupants, Elaine found herself with Susan and Peter. Lucy was in bed and Edmund was on his way there, though he was proving to be a little difficult.

The sound of Lucy's quiet sniffling drew their attention over to the girl.

"The sheets feel scratchy," she said.

"Wars don't last forever, Lucy. We'll be home soon," Susan tried to comfort her.

"Yeah," Edmund said, coming into the room. "If home is still there."

"Isn't it time you were in bed?"

"Yes, Mum!"

"Ed!" Peter snapped. He turned back to Lucy. "You saw the outside. This place is huge. We can do whatever we want here. Tomorrow's going to be great. Really."

Lucy eventually fell asleep and Edmund finally went to bed, leaving Susan, Peter, and Elaine the ones awake.

"So, I guess we can get to know each other a little," Elaine said in an attempt to make the situation better.

"I suppose," Peter added. "Well, we live in Finchley with our mum. Our father's fighting in the war."

"I live with my mum too. My father…well, he was missing in action for a while, but they eventually did find him. He died in battle."

"Elaine, I'm so sorry," Susan said.

"It's alright. He died for his country. I'm proud to call him my father." There was a bit of silence before she added, "I hope you don't mind me being here. I have a feeling you weren't expecting another person to be staying with you."

"Of course not," Peter smiled. "It's not a problem at all."

The three of them traded stories for an hour or so before they decided that they all deserved to get some sleep. Elaine returned to her room and pulled out her picture of her mother and father. They looked so happy together, with her father kissing her mother's cheek as she smiled broadly. Elaine desired to have a marriage just like theirs. For as long as she could remember, her father made a point to show her mother just how much he loved her.

"Don't worry, Mum," she whispered. "The other children here are nice, and so far we're getting along. I think I'm going to be just fine. And Dad, you know, their father is fighting off in the war too. I wonder if you knew him. I miss you. But I'll do my best to make you proud."

She kissed the photo and then drifted off to sleep, expecting a bright new day to await her.


	2. The Professor

Instead…it was just the opposite. From the second the children woke up, it had done nothing but pour outside.

"Gastrovascular," Susan read from the dictionary. When he didn't answer, she continued, "Come on, Peter. 'Gastrovascular'."

"Is it Latin?" Peter guessed.

"Yes."

"Is it Latin for 'worst game ever invented'?" Edmund joked.

While Elaine didn't appreciate his sarcasm, she had to admit that it was getting really boring guessing the origin of strange words.

"We could play hide-and-seek," Lucy offered.

"But we're already having so much fun," Peter said sarcastically.

"Come on, Peter, please! Pretty please?" She gave him her best puppy dog eyes, and Elaine smiled. That girl had her brother wrapped around her little finger.

Peter smiled at his little sister. "One…two…three…four…"

Peter continued counting as everyone ran and tried to find a place to hide. Elaine hid behind one of the long curtains that hid her feet. She had a feeling that it was going to take Peter a while to find everyone. After all, this place was gigantic!

Her thoughts were once again proven wrong. Once Peter finished counting, Lucy's voice shouted, "It's alright! I'm back! I'm alright!"

She could make out Peter say, "You know, I'm not sure you two have quite got the idea of this game."

"Weren't you wondering where I was?"

"That's the point!" Edmund said. "That was why he was seeking you!"

Susan and Elaine found their way to the strange confrontation. "Does this mean Elaine and I win?" Susan asked.

"I don't think Lucy wants to play anymore," Peter told them.

"I've been…gone for hours," Lucy said.

Everyone turned to look at her. She led them to the wardrobe where she claimed to have seen some kind of wood and met a…faun named Tumnus. Susan pulled back the coats and knocked on the wood while Edmund knocked on the other side of it.

"Lucy, the only wood in here is the back of the wardrobe," Susan said to the girl.

"One game at a time, Lu," Peter told her. "We don't all have your imagination."

They all began to leave, but Lucy quickly pleaded, "But I wasn't imagining!"

"That's enough, Lucy," Susan gently scolded.

"I wouldn't lie about this!"

"Well, I believe you," Edmund said.

"You do?"

"Of course! Didn't I tell you about the football field in the bathroom cupboard?"

"Oh, will you just stop?" Peter demanded. "You just have to make everything worse, don't you?"

"It was just a joke!"

"When are you going to learn to grow up?"

"Shut up! You think you're dad, but you're not!"

Edmund angrily stormed out of the room. Susan turned to her brother. "Well, that was nicely handled." She left the room after her brother.

"But…it was really there…" Lucy quietly insisted.

"Susan's right, Lucy," Peter said. "That's enough."

Peter left and Elaine started to follow him.

"You believe me, don't you, Elaine?"

Elaine turned back to the nine-year-old girl. Her face was filled with desperation, wanting—no, needing—someone to believe her.

"I'm…I'm sorry, Lucy," Elaine said before walking out. She headed back to her room, unable to get the pleading look on Lucy's face out of her head. There was a knock on the door, and she saw Peter standing in the entranceway.

"I'm sorry about…everything that just happened," he apologized. "Lucy isn't normally like that. Edmund is, but Lucy isn't."

"It's alright, Peter. Just a bit of sibling rivalry going on. I'm an only child though, so it was a new experience for me." Peter smiled a bit and she tried to ignore how cute his smile was. "As for Lucy," she continued, "I know what she was saying is impossible, but she just seemed so…sure."

"I don't know what's going on with her. She has an overactive imagination, but it's never gone this far."

"There's a part of me that wants to believe her."

"But the other part that says it's ridiculous takes over."

"Exactly." There was a pause before she offered, "Maybe it's just a phase. Perhaps if we give it time, she'll get over it."

"I hope so. This whole situation has been hard enough on her as it is. I mean, having to be away from Mum and Dad and going to an unfamiliar place…I don't want to make it any worse."

"I understand."

"How…how are you doing with this whole change?"

Elaine sighed a little. "I'm doing alright. I suppose. Still trying to get used to being away from Mum."

"I know how you feel. At least you don't have three other siblings to worry about."

"Well, if it's any consolation, you're doing a pretty good job for a 15-year-old."

"Thanks."

Peter left and a little while later, when Elaine heard footsteps, she turned expecting to see him returning, but instead she saw Edmund angrily pass by her room.

"Edmund!" she called after him. He turned to face her with fury written all over his face. "Listen, about back there with Peter…"

"He doesn't listen to me, and he always acts like he's better than me!" Edmund grumbled.

"He's just under a lot of pressure right now with everything that's happening."

"Don't try to defend him! Peter isn't better than me, and neither are you! You're just pretending to like us, but I know that you don't even want to be here!"

"Well, of course I would rather be with my mum. But that doesn't mean I don't like you all."

"Yes, it does. Do us all a favor and leave us alone!"

Elaine blew a puff of air out through her cheeks as Edmund stormed off again. _Be kind, even when they aren't kind to you,_ she thought to herself.

It was going to be difficult to follow her own advice if Edmund continued to act like that. How was she ever going to be able to get through this?

* * *

Elaine was in bed later that night looking at the picture of her parents. "I wish you were here, Mum," she said to the photo. "You'd know how to handle everything going on. There's a boy here named Peter. He's really nice to me, and he's kind of cute. Don't worry, Dad, I think you'd like him. He seems to be like the perfect guy for me. He takes really good care of his siblings, he's protective of them, he's been nothing but nice to me, and did I mention he's cute?" She took a deep breath and looked at her mother's eyes. They were so happy. What was that like to know you were loved by someone that way? "Mum…the youngest girl, Lucy, said that she found a magical wood in the wardrobe here. Now, we all know that's clearly impossible. But she just seemed like she whole-heartedly believed it was there. And when I didn't believe her, I actually felt guilty. What does that mean?"

Her head fell back onto the pillow as the picture rested on her chest.

"Why do things have to be so confusing?" she said quietly. She looked at the picture once more. "I love you both. Thanks for everything you've done for me. I hope you're staying safe, Mum."

Elaine wasn't asleep for very long before she awoke to Lucy shouting, "Peter, Peter wake up! Peter, wake up! It's there! It's really there!"

Elaine tossed on her robe and went to Peter's room. Lucy was on Peter's bed in her attempts to wake him up. She apparently was still holding onto the notion of the forest in the wardrobe.

"Narnia! It's all in the wardrobe, like I told you!" she continued.

"Oh, you've just been dreaming, Lucy," Susan said as she came into the room.

"But I haven't! I saw Mr. Tumnus again! And this time, Edmund went too!"

Everyone looked over at Edmund, who had an almost panicked look on his face.

"You…You saw the faun?" Peter asked.

Edmund slowly shook his head.

"Well, he didn't actually go there with me," Lucy said. "He…What were you doing, Edmund?"

"I was just playing along," Edmund said, getting a smug smile on his face. "I'm sorry, Peter. I shouldn't have encouraged her, but you know what little children are like these days. They just don't know when to stop pretending."

Lucy began crying and ran out of the room. Peter, Susan, and Elaine all ran after her to try to comfort her. And in the process, get her to drop the whole 'Narnia' thing.

When they finally caught up with her, they found her hugging the Professor as he stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do with the child latched onto him.

"You children are one shenanigan shy of sleepin' in the stables!" Mrs. Macready said as she ran up to them. She froze at the sight of the Professor and Lucy. "Professor. I'm sorry. I told them you were not to be disturbed."

"It's alright, Mrs. Macready," the Professor said gently. "I'm sure there's an explanation. But first of all, I think this one is in need of a little hot chocolate."

He handed Lucy over to the woman. "Come along, dear."

The older ones tried to get back to their rooms, but the Professor cleared his throat, and they stopped.

The Professor led the three of them to his office, and they shyly stood in front of his desk as he began to stuff his pipe.

"You seem to have upset the delicate internal balance of my housekeeper," he said to them.

"We're very sorry sir," Peter said quickly. "It won't happen again."

He tried to pull Susan and Elaine away, but Susan stayed behind. "It's our sister, sir. Lucy," she told him.

"The weeping girl," the Professor stated.

"Yes, sir. She's upset."

"Hence the weeping."

"It's nothing," Peter insisted. "We can handle it!"

"Oh, I can see that."

"She thinks she's found a magical land. In the upstairs wardrobe," Susan explained.

The Professor froze and looked up at them curiously. "What did you say?"

"Um, the wardrobe upstairs," Peter said. "Lucy thinks she's found a forest inside."

The Professor led them over to his sofa and they sat down on it while he sat in the chair across from him.

"She won't stop going on about it," Susan added.

"What was it like?" the Professor asked.

"Like talking to a lunatic!"

"No, no, no, not her. The forest!"

All six of their eyes widened at his words.

"You're not saying you believe her?" Peter asked in disbelief.

"You don't?"

"But of course not," Susan said. "I mean, logically, it's impossible."

"What I can't understand is how she completely believes it's real," Elaine put in. "I mean, when we looked at the wardrobe, we didn't see anything. So there can't really be anything there."

"What do they teach in schools these days?" the Professor muttered.

"Edmund said they were only pretending," Peter told him.

"And he's usually the more truthful one, is he?"

"No…this would be the first time."

"Well, if she's not mad and she's not lying, then logically…we must assume she's telling the truth."

"You're saying that we should just believe her?"

"She's your sister, isn't she? You're her family and her friend. You might just try acting like one."

The three of them headed back to their respective rooms, the Professor's word running through their heads.

"While I hate to admit it, he makes a good point," Elaine said to Peter before they parted.

"I suppose so," he muttered. "But it still doesn't make any sense."

"I'm not arguing with you about that."

"I'm sorry you got woken up, by the way. And dragged to the Professor's office."

"It's alright, Peter. Honestly, he kind of shed some light on all of this. Only a little, but light all the same. I have to ask though…is Edmund usually that…snide?"

"He's a bit immature, but I don't think I've ever seen him like that before. Maybe he's just trying to get used to the change like we all are."

"Perhaps. Well, we both should be getting back to sleep. I'll see you tomorrow, Peter."

"Good night, Elaine."

Elaine returned to her room and found that it took her a long time to fall asleep as the Professor's words, Lucy's claim, and Peter's face filled her mind.


	3. The Beavers

The next day, it was thankfully warm and sunny which gave the children a chance to get out of the large stuffy mansion.

Elaine and Lucy took to reading books by the tree while Peter, Susan, and Edmund all played cricket.

"Peter winds up, poised to take yet another wicket!" Peter threw the ball which hit a daydreaming Edmund's leg.

"Ow!" he exclaimed.

"Whoops!" Peter laughed. "Wake up, Dolly Daydream!"

"Why can't we play hide-and-seek again?"

"I thought you said it was a kid's game."

"Besides, we could all use the fresh air," Susan put in.

"It's not like there isn't air inside," Edmund snapped.

Peter retrieved the ball and went back to his pitching position. "Are you ready?" he called.

"Are you?"

Peter pitched the ball, and Edmund hit it, sending it flying through one of the mansion's many windows, creating a nice hole in the stained glass.

Lucy and Elaine gasped as the five of them went up to see what the damage was. Apparently, the ball had knocked over a knight's armor which lay in a destroyed pile.

"Well done, Ed!" Peter scolded.

"You bowled it!"

"What on earth is goin' on up there?" Mrs. Macready's shrill voice rang out.

"The Macready!" Susan exclaimed.

They all started running across the mansion in an attempt to avoid another lecture from the Macready about respecting the Professor's property.

Finally, after testing several locked doors, they ended up in the room where the wardrobe was.

"Come on!" Edmund said frantically.

"Oh, you've got to be joking," Susan scoffed. There was no way the five of them could fit in that tiny wardrobe.

However, the sound of footsteps behind them left them with no choice, and they all crammed into the wardrobe to hide from the Macready.

From there, a cacophony of voices rang out as the five of them ran into one another.

"Get back!"

"My toe!"

"I'm not on your toe! Move back!"

"Ouch, that hurt!"

"Will you stop shoving?"

Suddenly, Peter and Susan fell backwards and landed on top of fresh snow. They turned around, and there was the wood Lucy had been talking about.

"Impossible!" Susan gasped as they stood up.

"Don't worry," Lucy smiled. "I'm sure it's just your imagination."

Peter let out an awkward chuckle. "I-I don't suppose saying we're sorry would quite cover it?"

"No, it wouldn't."

The older kids looked at her sadly, feeling guilty that they ever doubted her. Then Peter got hit right in the face with a large snowball.

"But that might!"

They all began laughing as they gathered up snow and tried to hit one another with snowballs.

But when Susan hit Edmund, he just yelled, "Ow! Stop it!"

There was silence before Peter realized that Edmund had actually been here before. "You little liar!"

"You didn't believe her either!"

"Apologize to Lucy." When he said nothing, Peter took a step forward and growled, "Say you're sorry!"

"All right! I'm sorry!"

"That's alright," Lucy said. "Some little children just don't know when to stop pretending."

"Oh, very funny."

"Maybe we should go back," Susan suggested.

"Are you kidding?" Elaine laughed. "We are in a magical land inside a wardrobe! How many people our age can say that?"

"Shouldn't we at least take a look around?" Edmund added.

That wasn't like him. If Elaine didn't know any better, she'd say he had an ulterior motive.

"I think Lucy should decide," Peter said.

Lucy smiled broadly. "I'd like you all to meet Mr. Tumnus!"

"Well, then Mr. Tumnus it is!"

Susan scoffed. "But we can't go hiking in the snow dressed like this!"

"No." Peter went back to the wardrobe and took out five coats and began handing one to each person. "But I'm sure the Professor wouldn't mind us using these. Anyway, if you think about it logically, we're not even taking them out of the wardrobe."

"But that's a girl's coat!" Edmund exclaimed, seeing the coat Peter was holding out for him.

"I know."

The group continued to move further into the magical land Lucy had discovered. They stopped in confusion when they saw a lamppost in the middle of the woods for no apparent reason. However, the flame inside blazed on, oblivious to the cold weather.

Lucy led them through the land, never once losing her way. The whole place was absolutely beautiful, and like nothing Elaine had ever seen before.

Peter grasped Elaine's hand and ran ahead with her as they laughed together. Peter ended up falling and he took Elaine with him. Everyone, minus Edmund, began laughing as Peter and Elaine got covered in snow.

"We'll have lots and lots of lovely food, and we'll have lots and lots of…" Lucy trailed off when she looked ahead of her. The door to the place where she had been leading them had been forcibly knocked down.

"Lu?" Peter asked at his sister's silence. Lucy took off in a sprint towards the door. "Lucy!"

The four of them ran after the girl and inside the house. It was a mess and it was clear that a huge struggle had taken place. Everything was in complete disarray.

"Who would do something like this?" Lucy asked softly.

Peter looked around and noticed a yellowed piece of parchment attached to a pillar. He pulled it off the nail and read, "'The Faun Tumnus is hereby charged with High Treason against Her Imperial Majesty Jadis, Queen of Narnia, for comforting her enemies and fraternizing with humans. Signed Maugrim, Captain of the Secret Police. Long Live the Queen'."

Susan took the paper from him and looked over it. "All right. Now we really should go back," she insisted.

"But what about Mr. Tumnus?" Lucy pleaded.

"If he was arrested just for being with a human, I don't think there's much we can do."

"You don't understand, do you? I'm the human! She must have found out he helped me."

When Elaine looked over at Edmund, she could've sworn he looked guilty which made her think that perhaps he knew something about this Tumnus's disappearance that he wasn't telling them. But voicing that thought out loud to his siblings didn't seem like the best idea.

"Maybe we could call the police," Peter offered.

"These are the police," Susan said.

Peter looked over at Lucy. "Don't worry, Lu. We'll think of something."

"Why?" Edmund interjected. "I mean, he's a criminal."

They were about to say something when they all heard, "Psst!" Their heads turned to find a bird perched on a branch.

"Did that bird just 'psst' us?" Susan asked.

They all left the house and ventured back outside. Immediately, they all felt quite threatened as they heard noises from the left and from the right and from right in front of them.

Lucy clutched onto Susan, and Susan and Elaine clutched onto Peter.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when a harmless animal emerged from behind a snow bank.

"It's…it's a beaver," Lucy remarked.

Peter slowly moved towards the beaver with his hand outstretched. "Here boy," he said as he clicked his tongue. "Here boy."

The beaver looked at his hand and then to their amazement and utter shock, the beaver actually said, "I ain't gonna smell it if that's what you want!"

Everyone's eyes widened at the fact that an animal had just spoken to them!

"Oh. Sorry," Peter said, taking a step back.

"Lucy Pevensie?" the beaver said.

Lucy's eyes widened even more and she stepped towards the animal. "Yes?" The beaver handed her a small piece of cloth. "Hey, that's the hanky I gave to Mr. Tum—"

"Tumnus," the beaver finished. "He got it to me just before they took him."

"Is he alright?"

The beaver looked around him nervously. "Further in."

Peter, Lucy, and Elaine started to follow the beaver, but Susan quickly pulled Peter back. "What are you doing?" she demanded.

"She's right," Edmund added. "How do we know we can trust him?"

Peter shrugged his shoulders. "He said he knows the faun."

Susan looked at him pointedly. "He's a beaver. He shouldn't be saying anything!"

The beaver poked his head over the snow. "Everything alright?"

"Yes," Peter answered. "We were just talking."

"That's better left for safer quarters."

"He means the trees," Lucy clarified.

They all looked up at the trees, trying to see any sign of life.

"Look," Elaine put in. "Lucy's been here twice now, so if she trusts him, I trust him. Besides, perhaps maybe we can get a few more answers as to what exactly is going on."

Not seeing any other option, the five of them decided to follow after the talking beaver.

"Come on," Mr. Beaver said as he led the way. "We don't want to be caught out here after nightfall."

They walked for what must've been at least an hour before they happened upon a snow-covered dam.

"Ah, blimey! Looks like the old girl has got the kettle on. Nice cup o' Rosy Lee!"

"It's lovely!" Lucy remarked.

"It's merely a trifle, you know. Still plenty to do. Ain't quite finished it yet. It'll look the business when it is though."

They walked a little closer when they all heard, "Beaver, is that you? I've been worried sick! If I find you've been out with Badger again, I…" Mrs. Beaver stopped when she saw the five humans walking behind her husband. "Oh! Well, those aren't badgers. Oh, I never thought I'd live to see this day!" she said as she walked up to them.

The five of them exchanged glances, wondering why it seemed to be such a big deal that there were here in this magical land. Were humans really so scarce in this world?

"Look at my fur," Mrs. Beaver hissed. "You couldn't give me ten minutes warning?"

"I'd have given you a week if I thought it would've helped!" Mr. Beaver joked.

She turned to the children again. "Oh, come inside, and we'll see if we can't get you some food. And some civilized company."

They all stepped inside, having to stoop down low to get through the doorway.

"Excuse the mess. Can't get Mr. Beaver to get out of his chair."

Lucy, Peter, Susan, and Elaine all sat around the small table while Edmund sat on the stairs away from them all. His mind was clearly somewhere else, and Elaine was beginning to wonder just what had happened to him when he had visited Narnia with Lucy.

"Isn't there anything we can do to help Tumnus?" Peter asked.

"They'll have taken him to the Witch's house," Mr. Beaver answered. "And you know what they say. There's few that go through them gates that come out again."

"Fish n' chips?" Mrs. Beaver said quickly as she brought over a tray of food. When she noticed everyone's sad looks, she added, "But there is hope, dear. Lots of hope."

Mr. Beaver spit his drink back into his cup at those words, which caused Mrs. Beaver to get a look of surprise and embarrassment. "Oh yeah, there's a right bit more than hope!" He leaned in closer to them and said quietly, "Aslan is on the move."

At the mention of Aslan, those at the table felt a warmth caress their bodies that seemed to melt straight through the harsh winter around them.

"Who's Aslan?" Edmund asking, shattering the moment.

Mr. Beaver just started laughing. "'Who's Aslan?' You cheeky little blighter!" Mrs. Beaver tapped him when she noticed their stares. "What?" he asked. He turned to look and them and saw their cluelessness. "You don't know, do you?"

"Well, we haven't exactly been here very long," Peter said.

"Well, he's only the king of the whole wood. The top geezer. The real King of Narnia!"

"He's been away for a long while," Mrs. Beaver put in.

"But he's just got back! And he's waiting for you near the Stone Table!"

"He's waiting for us?" Lucy asked.

"You're blooming joking!" He turned to his wife in frustration. "They don't even know about the prophecy!"

"Well, then…" Mrs. Beaver urged.

Mr. Beaver turned back to them. "Look. Aslan's return, Tumnus' arrest, the Secret Police, it's all happening because of you!"

"You're blaming us?" Susan asked sharply.

"No!" Mrs. Beaver told her. "Not blaming. Thanking you."

"There's a prophecy. 'When Adam's flesh and Adam's bone sits at Cair Paravel in throne, the evil time will be over and done'," Mr. Beaver explained.

"You know that doesn't really rhyme," Susan said.

"Yeah, I know it doesn't, but you're kind of missing the point!"

Mrs. Beaver put her hand on him to steady his temper. "It has long been foretold that two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve will defeat the White Witch and restore peace to Narnia."

Elaine suddenly felt extremely guilty and out of place and desired nothing more than to leave. The prophecy stated only _two_ boys and _two_ girls. That meant she wasn't included and she wasn't supposed to be here. She could feel a lot of eyes look at her, and it made her feel extremely small and insignificant.

"And you think _we're_ the ones?" Peter asked in disbelief, choosing to avoid the fact that Elaine was not included in this so-called prophecy.

"Well you'd better be because Aslan's already fitted out your army!" Mr. Beaver told him.

"Our army?" Lucy exclaimed.

Susan looked at Peter pointedly. "Our mums sent us away so we wouldn't get caught up in a war."

Peter looked at the Beavers. "I think you've made a mistake. We're not heroes!"

"We're from Finchley! Thank you for your hospitality. But we really have to go."

"No, you can't just leave!" Mr. Beaver said.

"He's right," Lucy said to her siblings. "We have to help Mr. Tumnus."

"It's out of our hands," Peter said firmly. He turned to the Beavers. "I'm sorry, but it's time the five of us were getting home. Ed?" They all looked around them for the youngest brother. "Ed?" Nothing. Peter turned back around. "I'm going to kill him."

"You may not have to," Mr. Beaver said lowly. "Has Edmund ever been to Narnia before?"

There was silence before Elaine said quietly, "Why?"


	4. The Secret Police

The next thing she knew, Elaine was running through the snow after Edmund before he got himself hurt.

"Hurry!" Peter called to the others.

They finally all made it to a ridge where they could see a small figure approaching a huge ice castle.

"EDMUND!" Lucy screamed.

"Shh!" Mr. Beaver shushed. "They'll hear you!" Peter started after his brother, but Mr. Beaver grabbed his coat. "NO!"

"Get off me!" Peter yelled.

"You're playing into her hands!"

"We can't just let him go!" Susan yelled.

"He's our brother!" Lucy added.

"He's the bait!" Mr. Beaver said in loud whisper. "The Witch wants all four of you!"

"Why?" Peter demanded.

"To stop the prophecy from coming true! To kill you!"

Elaine's heart skipped a beat at those words. For goodness' sake, they were just innocent kids, and they already had someone who wanted them dead. Or the Pevensies anyway. But Elaine had a feeling that if this White Witch could get her hands on Elaine, she wouldn't hesitate in killing her as well, and that scared her. Even if she wasn't meant to be here, she still wasn't safe.

"This is all your fault!" Susan said accusingly to Peter.

"My fault?" Peter asked incredulously.

"None of this would have happened if you had just listened to me in the first place!"

"Oh, so you knew this would happen?"

"I didn't know what would happen. Which is why we should've left while we still could!"

"Stop it!" Lucy interjected. "This isn't going to help Edmund."

"She's right," Mr. Beaver sighed. "Only Aslan can help your brother now."

"Then take us to him," Peter said.

The four of them looked back at the castle, wondering what was going to happen to Edmund.

They all began the depressing journey back to the dam to tell Mrs. Beaver of what had happened.

"Peter," Elaine said. "I'm…I'm sorry about Edmund."

"I just don't understand," Peter sighed. "I mean I know that Edmund's been having a hard time with Dad away in the war and us having to leave our home, but I never imagined that he would go this far."

"Well…I've noticed that there's a lot of tension between Edmund and the rest of you. Perhaps this woman came into his life when he was most vulnerable and knew just what to say to get him to trust her."

"I suppose so. I just can't understand what would make him think that she's the good person in all of this."

Elaine was about to say something more, but the sound of a loud wolf's howl interrupted her. All of their heads whipped around at the sound which was gathering strength and seemed to be getting closer.

"Run!" Mr. Beaver cried.

None of them hesitated at his command any longer. If Mr. Beaver was telling them to run, they knew that they better run.

"What is it?" Elaine asked as they hurried along.

"The Secret Police is after you!"

"The Secret Police is made of wolves?"

They finally made it back to the dam and burst in.

"Hurry, Mother!" Mr. Beaver exclaimed. "They're after us!"

"Oh, right then!" Mrs. Beaver said. She immediately began running around the dam packing up things.

"What's she doing?" Peter asked frantically.

Mr. Beaver shook his head in frustration.

"Oh, you'll be thanking me later," Mrs. Beaver told them. "It's a long journey and Beaver gets pretty cranky when he's hungry."

"I'm cranky now!" Mr. Beaver yelled.

Susan began attempting to help Mrs. Beaver pack up everything. "Do you think we'll need jam?" she asked.

"Only if the Witch serves toast!" Peter told her.

Susan looked at him pointedly before their attention was drawn towards the outside. Loud growls and yelps sounded out and soon the wood that made up the dam began to break. The wolves were clawing their way in.

The Beavers quickly led the children down to a tunnel. It was uncomfortable to have to squat, but it was much better than the alternative.

"Badger and me dug this," Mr. Beaver told them as he led the way. "Comes out right near his place."

"You told me it lead to your mum's!" Mrs. Beaver admonished.

Suddenly, Lucy fell to the ground as she tripped on a weed. They all listened for a second and heard the howls and barks of the wolves that were much closer and clearer than they should've been.

"They're in the tunnel," Lucy whispered.

"Quick! This way!" Mr. Beaver urged.

"Hurry!" Mrs. Beaver added.

"Run!" Peter called to the girls.

They all kept running through the tunnels when to their horror, they came upon a dead end.

"You should have brought a map!" Mrs. Beaver scolded.

"There wasn't room next to the jam!"

The Beavers jumped up through a hole above them and helped the others out. Once Peter was out, he grabbed Elaine's hand and yanked her up into the snow. Then he and Mr. Beaver rolled a barrel in front of the hole to delay the wolves for however much time it got them.

Everyone looked at Lucy who had fallen on the ground and realized that she had tripped over some stone animals.

Mr. Beaver approached another stone animal held forever in a defensive pose with terror etched on his face.

"I'm so sorry, dear," Mrs. Beaver said tenderly.

"He was my best mate," Mr. Beaver lamented.

They all looked around to find several animals all turned to stone, stuck in different poses that all reflected how scared they were in their last moments.

"What happened here?" Peter asked.

"This is what becomes of those who cross the Witch," a voice stated. They looked up to find a fox looming over them.

"You take one more step, traitor, and I'll chew you to splinters!" Mr. Beaver growled.

"Relax," the fox laughed. "I'm one of the good guys."

"Yeah? Well, you look an awful lot like one of the bad ones."

"An unfortunate family resemblance. But we can argue breeding later. Right now we've got to move."

The sound of the wolves' howling and barking got louder and louder. Peter quickly turned back to the fox. "What did you have in mind?"

"Get out of sight. I'll get rid of them."

"Where?"

The fox motioned towards a tall tree, and they all quickly ran to it. The Beavers climbed up with ease, but it was a bit more difficult for the others. Elaine wasn't exactly the best tree-climber, but unfortunately, her life literally depended on it at the moment. Doing her best, Elaine forced herself to climb up one branch at a time until she was where the rest of the Pevensies were.

"Don't look down, don't look down," she muttered to herself.

Her mantra quickly became useless when she looked down anyway as the wolves burst out of the tunnel and surrounded the fox.

"Greetings, gents. Lost something, have we?"

"Don't patronize me!" one of the wolves growled. "I know where your allegiance lies. We're looking for some humans."

The fox laughed. "Humans? Here in Narnia? Well, that's a valuable bit of information, don't you think?"

One of the wolves lunged at the fox and sank his teeth into his torso. Lucy started to cry out, but Peter quickly covered her mouth before any sound could escape. Elaine firmly shut her eyes, unwilling to see anymore, especially not from the height she was at.

"Your reward is your life. It's not much. But still. Where are the fugitives?"

There was a lengthy pause, and Elaine worried that he was about to give them away until he mustered out, "North. They ran north."

"Smell them out!"

The wolf threw the fox back onto the ground where he lay motionless. Everyone quickly clambered down to help, but Elaine was petrified and couldn't find it in her to move.

"Elaine?" Peter said, realizing she wasn't following.

"I'm…I'm coming. Just…give me a second."

Peter climbed back up a little until he was close to where Elaine was. "It's not hard," he told her. "Just one foot in front of the other. I won't let you fall."

Elaine took one look down and felt as if she was 500 feet in the air. Leaning onto Peter's words for support, she swallowed thickly and slowly began to climb down the tree.

"Good," Peter said. "You're doing great."

Elaine's heart was hammering in her chest for multiple reasons. For her near brush with death, for being so high in a tree, and for the fact that Peter had to coach her out of said tree. It was humiliating!

Just as she made it to the last branch, her foot slipped and she let out a small scream as she fell. She expected to hit hard snow-covered ground…but instead, Peter caught her under her arms as her feet landed onto the ground in a quite ungraceful manner.

"Told you," he smirked.

Elaine blushed furiously, praying that it was too dark for him to notice. By this time, a campfire had been started and Mrs. Beaver was tending to the fox's wounds.

"They were helping Tumnus, and the Witch got here before I did," the fox explained as Peter and Elaine joined them. "Ow! Oh!"

"Are you alright?" Lucy asked.

"Well, I wish I could say their bark was worse than their bite. OW!"

"Stop squirming!" Mrs. Beaver scolded. "You're worse than Beaver on bath day."

"Worst day of the year," Mr. Beaver remarked.

"Thank you for your kindness," the fox said as he stood up. "But I'm afraid that's all the cure I have time for."

"You're leaving?" Lucy said.

"It has been a pleasure, my Queen, and an honor."

 _That's going to take some getting used to_ , Elaine thought. Her friends were actual royalty. They may be in denial about it, but if this prophecy was accurate, they were all going to be kings and queens by the time it was all said and done. So where did that leave her?

"But time is short and Aslan himself has asked me to gather more troops."

"You've seen Aslan?" Mr. Beaver gasped.

"What's he like?" Mrs. Beaver chimed in.

The fox smiled. "Like everything we've ever heard. You'll be glad to have him by your side in the battle against the Witch."

"But we're not planning on fighting any witch," Susan insisted.

"But, surely, King Peter, the prophecy!"

Mr. Beaver turned to him. "We can't go to war without you."

Peter looked at all of them in defeat. "We just want our brother back."

The fox left the group, and they all decided to retire inside Badger's house. It was sad and a bit uncomfortable to sleep there with the knowledge of what had taken place merely hours ago, but none of them were safe out in the open. Mr. Beaver insisted Badger would've wanted it this way.

"Elaine," Peter whispered. "Are you still awake?"

"Yes," she replied as she turned over to face him. "I can't stop thinking about everything that's happening."

"Same here. I was already under a lot of pressure trying to take care of everyone when we were ripped out of our homes. And now everyone is expecting me to lead them into battle, and there's a prophecy that I'm destined to be a King."

"Honestly, I think not being in the prophecy at all is worse."

"I'm not so sure about that."

"Ever since Mr. and Mrs. Beaver mentioned this prophecy, I can't help but wonder why I'm even here if there isn't anything written out there about me. Was I not supposed to come? And what will happen now that I have? Have I unintentionally ruined things?"

"That can't be true," Peter insisted. "You must be here for some reason. At least you haven't had the pressures of the world pushed onto your shoulders."

"Peter, from what I've seen, you can handle anything that comes your way. I'm certain of it. Even being King in a magical land and leading those people into war. Is it a scary thought? Absolutely. But you have your siblings. And the Beavers. And you have me."

Peter looked at the girl across from him at her last statement.

"There may not be a prophecy written for me, but I promise you that I will be here to help you, no matter what."


	5. Gifts from Father Christmas

The group got up and moving quite early in the morning to continue the journey to find Aslan and get help for Edmund.

"Now, Aslan's camp is near the Stone Table just across the frozen river," Mr. Beaver pointed out.

"River?" Peter asked.

"Oh, the river's been frozen solid for a hundred years," Mrs. Beaver said.

Peter looked out at the great distance they still had to go. "It's so far."

"It's the world, dear. Did you expect it to be small?"

Susan gave Peter a coy look. "Smaller."

They all continued their journey and Elaine's eyes were beginning to hurt from all the whiteness surrounding them.

"Come on, humans!" Mr. Beaver called. "While we're still young."

Peter stopped walking for a second and crouched down so Lucy could get on his back. "If he tells us to hurry one more time, I'm going to turn him into a big fluffy hat."

"Hurry up! Come on!"

"He is getting a little bossy," Lucy remarked.

"No! Behind you! It's her!" Mrs. Beaver cried.

They looked behind them and saw a sleigh quickly approaching. Peter quickly set Lucy down, and they all began running towards the trees as fast as they could, knowing if they got caught by the White Witch, they would all die.

Once they made it to the trees, Mr. Beaver directed them to a place where they were hidden from the snow. "Inside! Dive! Dive!"

They watched in fear as a shadow loomed on the snow in front of them. It stayed there for what felt like hours until it disappeared from the whiteness.

"Maybe she's gone," Lucy said quietly after a few seconds.

"I suppose I'll go look," Peter said, preparing to venture out. Elaine unconsciously put her hand on him, unwilling to see him slaughtered at the hands of the Witch.

"No!" Mr. Beaver said quickly. "You're worth nothing to Narnia dead."

"Well, neither are you, Beaver," Mrs. Beaver said to her husband.

"Thanks, sweetheart."

Mr. Beaver left the safety of their hideout, and the seconds passed by painstakingly slow as they all hoped and prayed that Mr. Beaver was alright.

Suddenly, his head popped in front of them which surprised them so much that Lucy and Elaine let out small screams.

"Come out! Come out! I hope you've all been good, because there's someone here to see you!"

The four humans came out into the open and were met with the last person they expected to see: Father Christmas.

"Merry Christmas, sir!" Lucy smiled.

"It certainly is, Lucy, since you have arrived," Father Christmas said to the girl.

Susan turned to the older ones. "Look, I've put up with a lot since I got here, but this…"

"We thought you were the Witch," Peter said before Susan could finish.

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry about that," Father Christmas apologized. "But, in my defense, I have been driving one of these longer than the Witch."

"I thought there was no Christmas in Narnia," Susan said.

"No. For a long time. But the hope you that have brought, Your Majesties, is finally starting to weaken the Witch's power. Still, I dare say you could do with these!" He took a huge sack out from the back of his sleigh.

"Presents!" Lucy cried with delight.

Father Christmas laughed and took out a couple of items from his bag before going over to the youngest sibling. "The juice of the fire flower," he said as he gave her a small bottle filled with red liquid. "One drop will cure any injury. And though I hope you never have to use it…" He handed her a small dagger.

"Thank you, sir. But I think I could be brave enough."

"I'm sure you could. But battles are ugly affairs." He went back to his bag and pulled out two more items. "Susan. Trust in this bow and it will not easily miss."

Susan hesitantly took the bow and arrows. "What happened to 'battles are ugly affairs'?"

Father Christmas chuckled lightly before giving her an intricately carved horn. "Though you don't seem to have a problem making yourself heard, blow on this, and wherever you are, help will come."

"Thanks."

Father Christmas pulled out another two items and looked at the eldest sibling. "And, Peter. The time to use these may be near at hand." He handed Peter a sword and a shield with a lion on it.

Peter took the sword out of its sheath and examined its gorgeous quality. "Thank you, sir."

Elaine smiled at the others. Those objects were some rather exciting gifts that she was sure would come in handy with what they were supposedly destined to face.

"Elaine," Father Christmas said.

Elaine's head snapped over to look at the older man. "What?" she said softly, taking a small step forward. "You…have something for me as well?"

"Of course I do." He produced two additional gifts from his bag, one she wasn't quite sure how it managed to fit. "Use this well, and it shall not miss its mark." He handed her a long wooden staff with beautiful golden Narnian designs etched on it. "And if you ever find yourself lost or confused, look into this and the answer you need will come to you." He presented her with a beautiful silver mirror that felt ordinary, but she had no doubt that it would do what he said it could.

"Thank you very much," Elaine said. She couldn't understand why she was being given gifts. So far, all signs pointed to the conclusion that she wasn't supposed to be here in Narnia, and yet, here was she was with presents from Father Christmas.

"These are tools, not toys," Father Christmas explained. "Bear them well and wisely. Now, I best be off. Winter is almost over, and things do pile up when you've been gone a hundred years! Long live Aslan! And Merry Christmas!"

Father Christmas rode off as they all shouted their thanks and good-byes.

"Told you he was real," Lucy said to Susan.

"He said winter was almost over," Peter remarked. "You know what that means. No more ice."

At the realization that their path was quickly going to be useless if they didn't get there in time, the group went as fast as they could to the frozen river. When they got there, they saw with horror that the ice was quickly melting and floating away, taking away their shortcut.

"We need to cross now!" Peter said.

"Don't beavers make dams?" Lucy asked.

"I'm not that fast, dear!" Mr. Beaver told her.

Peter took Lucy's hand. "Come on!"

"Wait, will you just think about this for a minute?" Susan demanded.

"We don't have a minute!"

"I'm just trying to be realistic."

"No, you're trying to be smart. As usual!"

Elaine awkwardly left the ensuing confrontation and they all began making their way down to the river. When they reached the ice, Peter carefully stepped on it, but it immediately began to break. On instinct, Elaine quickly pulled him away and back on land.

"Wait, maybe I should go first," Mr. Beaver said.

"Maybe you should."

Mr. Beaver slowly went out onto the ice, slapping it with its tail to test its strength. Several times, the ice cracked beneath him.

"You've been sneaking second helpings, haven't you?" Mrs. Beaver said to him.

"Well, you never know which meal's gonna be your last. Especially with your cooking."

Elaine smiled a little, but it quickly disappeared when she began to traverse out onto the ice with Peter leading the way. Lucy screamed as she tripped on a portion of the ice, but Peter caught her before she fell.

"If our mums knew what we were doing…" Susan started.

Peter rolled his eyes and glared at her. "Our mums aren't here!"

Ice fell from the waterfall which made them all glance up. The wolves were crossing the waterfall above them to cut them off!

"Oh, no!" Lucy cried.

"Run!" Peter exclaimed as he grabbed Lucy's hand.

They tried to quickly hop over the ice, but they didn't make it before Maugrim stood in front of them and growled. They turned the other way and found several more wolves boxing them in on the ice. Mr. Beaver hissed at one of the wolves, but the wolf lunged at him and sank his teeth into his throat.

"No!" Mrs. Beaver screamed.

Peter whipped out his sword and aimed it at Maugrim.

"Put that down, boy," Maugrim growled. "Someone could get hurt."

"Don't worry about me!" Mr. Beaver shouted. "Run him through!"

Elaine took a firm hold of her staff and stood next to Peter, aiming her weapon at the same enemy. Peter spared a glance at her, and she nodded to him, silently telling him she had his back.

"Leave now while you can, and your brother leaves with you."

Susan looked at Peter after hearing those words. "Stop, Peter! Maybe we should listen to him!"

Maugrim chuckled darkly. "Smart girl."

"Don't listen to him!" Mr. Beaver said. "Kill him! Kill him now!"

"He's right, Susan!" Elaine said quickly. "We can't trust him! Or anyone working for the White Witch!"

"Oh, come on," Maugrim said, slowly inching forward. "This isn't your war. All my Queen wants is for you to take your family and go."

"Well, that's not what anyone else wants!"

"Look, just because some man in a red coat hands you a sword and a staff, it doesn't make you a hero!" Susan told the older ones desperately. "Just drop them!"

Elaine looked at her and back at Maugrim. "We can't."

"No, Peter!" Mr. Beaver urged again. "Narnia needs you! Gut him while you still have a chance!"

Maugrim inched forward even more. "What's it gonna be, Son of Adam? I won't wait forever. And neither will the river!"

"Peter!" Lucy screamed.

They all looked up and found water beginning to burst through the ice. Peter frantically looked around for a way to save everyone's lives.

"Hold on to me!" he shouted.

Lucy, Susan, and Elaine clutched onto his coat as he sank his sword into the ice they were standing on. The water came bursting forth which send a wave straight for them. The girls all screamed as they felt the water lift up the ice and wash over them.

Elaine could not describe how she felt when she was submerged into the water. It was freezing cold, and it seemed to sink through her skin into her bones. The fact that they were clinging to a piece of ice didn't help.

Just when she couldn't hold her breath any longer, the patch of ice broke through the surface and they could finally breathe again. Lucy squealed as the ice floated down the river with the current. Elaine's lip quivered from the cold as she took in gulps of air.

The Beavers swam over to them and pushed the piece of ice over to the bank. Susan and Elaine got onto the ground, and turned back to Peter. He had a panicked look on his face, and they realized he was holding Lucy's coat. No Lucy.

"What have you done?!" Susan exclaimed.

"Lucy!" Elaine called.

"Lucy!"

"Has anyone seen my coat?" a small voice said.

Peter whipped around and relief washed over him as he saw his little sister approaching them. He gently helped her put her coat back on as Elaine and Susan smiled.

"Don't you worry, dear," Mr. Beaver said. "Your brother's got you well looked after."

"And I don't think you'll be needing those coats anymore," Mrs. Beaver added.

They looked over at the trees and saw that the snow was beginning to melt, and the pink flowers on the trees were blossoming once again.


	6. Aslan

They continued on their journey to meet Aslan, and they found that as they continued walking, it was getting warmer and warmer. Before long, they were all dried off, and they were able to take off their coats, leaving them near one of the trees. Hopefully, the Professor wouldn't notice the absence of five fur coats in his wardrobe.

Elaine lifted up her face to the sun. "I forgot how much I really loved warm weather," she remarked.

"Me too," Peter laughed. "Especially when you've just been in an ice river!"

It wasn't much longer before Aslan's camp was in sight. A horn sounded that seemed to announce their arrival.

"I can't believe we finally made it," Elaine said as she walked next to Peter. "It feels like we've been walking for ages."

"I wanted to thank you for your help back there," Peter told her. "Before the waterfall crashed on us."

"Of course. I told you that I would be here to help you. I wanted to keep good on my words."

The four of them began walking through the camp and immediately began attracting the eyes of everyone. Lucy gasped as she saw fauns, centaurs, a cheetah, and other creatures preparing for battle.

Elaine started feeling extremely self-conscious. She knew everyone was looking at the Pevensies because they were the people destined to save them all. But she could see everyone's eyes boring into her, wondering why an additional female was with them.

Suddenly, she felt Peter's hand take her own, apparently sensing her uneasiness. She looked at him and he gave her an encouraging smile.

"Why are they all staring at us?" Susan asked.

"Maybe they think _you_ look funny," Lucy joked.

Peter laughed, but Susan didn't look amused. They reached the end of the camp where a large tent sat, guarded by another centaur. By this time, the whole camp was behind them, anxiously waiting to see what would happen.

Peter took out his sword and held it up. "We have come to see Aslan."

There were light gasps behind them at his request. The centaur looked towards the tent. At the sound of movement, they turned to find the entire camp bowing down.

The tent opened, and Elaine gasped in awe and wonder as Aslan, The Great Lion, stepped out. She was overwhelmed in his presence and couldn't find words that properly explained how she felt.

Peter, Elaine, Susan, and Lucy got down on one knee and bowed down to the true King of Narnia.

"Welcome Peter, Son of Adam," he said gently. "Welcome Susan, Lucy, and Elaine, Daughters of Eve. And welcome to you, Beavers. You have my thanks. But where is the fourth sibling?"

Peter slowly stood up and the others joined him. "That's why we're here, sir. We need your help."

"We had a little trouble along the way," Susan said.

"Our brother's been captured by the White Witch."

"Captured?" Aslan asked. "How could this happen?"

"He betrayed them, Your Majesty," Mr. Beaver explained.

"Then he has betrayed us all!" the centaur growled.

"Peace, Oreius," Aslan said quickly. "I'm sure there's an explanation."

Peter looked up at Aslan guiltily. "It's my fault, really. I was too hard on him."

Susan put her hand on his shoulder sympathetically. "We all were."

"Sir, he's our brother," Lucy said quietly.

"I know, dear one," Aslan told her. "But that only makes the betrayal all the worse. This may be harder than you think."

The group was all given Narnian clothing to change into in order to better fit their surroundings. Susan and Lucy decided to go by the river, but Elaine went to go talk to Peter. She soon found him on a hill looking out across the water at a majestic castle in the distance.

"Deep in thought again I see," she said as she walked up to stand next to him.

Peter turned to look at her and felt his throat squeeze tight. Elaine was wearing a blue dress that reached to her feet. The skirt had pieces of light blue fabric hanging down to match the portion of the sleeves in between her elbows and her shoulders. Her hair was braided in several places while the rest hung in perfect curls down her back. She was wearing a silver intricate headband on top of her head that tied everything together. She looked absolutely gorgeous. Prettier than he had ever seen her.

"I know you're under a lot of stress," she said, ignoring his pause and not noticing how he was looking at her. "I understand. I'm more confused than ever since Father Christmas gave me gifts. I thought I wasn't supposed to be here, but now I don't know. If I'm meant to be here, why are there only four humans in the prophecy?"

"I don't know," Peter finally said. "I don't know about any of this. Yesterday, I was just the eldest sibling looking out for everyone else. Now, I'm a king who's meant to save an entire country. I mean, I'm only fifteen! I'm not ready for all of this!"

"Lucy's only nine, and she's destined to be queen."

"That's different. Lucy isn't expected to lead these people into battle. They're expecting to follow me."

"Peter, I know that this is all scary for you. I don't blame you for being afraid. But I also have no doubt that you are more than capable of leading this army in the battle against the Witch. I've seen how protective you are of those you care about, and that is your greatest strength."

"I don't know, Elaine. This may all be too much."

The two of them looked off in the distance at the castle.

"That is Cair Paravel, the castle of the four thrones," Aslan said as he came up behind them. "In one of which you will sit, Peter, as High King." When he saw the doubtful look on Peter's face, he asked, "You doubt the prophecy?"

"No. That's just it. Aslan, I'm not what you all think I am."

"Peter Pevensie, formerly of Finchley." Peter looked at him with confusion, surprised he knew where he was from. "Beaver also mentioned you planned on turning him into a hat."

Peter and Elaine laughed, and Aslan joined in with them.

"Peter, there is a Deep Magic more powerful than any of us that rules over all of Narnia. It defines right from wrong and governs all our destinies. Yours and mine."

"But I couldn't even protect my own family!"

"You've brought them safely this far."

"Not all of them."

Elaine put her hand on Peter's shoulder to comfort him. She knew he was worried about Edmund and still felt guilty for everything that was happening to his younger brother.

"Peter, I will do what I can to help your brother. But I need you to consider what I ask of you. I too want my family safe."

The sound of a horn cut off all of their conversation.

"Susan!" Peter yelled as he dashed off.

Elaine sprinted after him as fast as she could, but she quickly found that her dress slowed her down more than she would've liked.

By the time she finally caught up with him, she saw Susan and Lucy in a tree trying to escape from two wolves. Peter pulled out his sword and aimed it at Maugrim, the one he and Elaine had confronted at the river.

"Come on," Maugrim growled. "We've already been through this before. We both know you haven't got it in you!"

"Peter! Watch out!" Susan cried.

"Be careful!" Elaine called to him. She silently berated herself for leaving her staff back in her tent.

Suddenly, Aslan growled and placed his giant paw on the other wolf, forbidding him from attacking Peter. Oreius and some other Narnians drew their swords to help, but Aslan stopped them.

"No! Stay your weapons. This is Peter's battle."

Peter looked at Maugrim with fury and concentration in his eyes.

"You may think you're a king, but you're going to die…like a dog!"

Maugrim lunged for him as all of the girls screamed his name. Susan and Lucy came down from the tree and Elaine joined them over where Peter was. They shoved Maugrim off him, and were incredibly thankful to see that Peter's sword had killed Maugrim before he had the chance to hurt Peter.

The three girls tightly hugged him. Aslan took his paw off the other wolf who yelped and ran off as soon as he was free.

"After him," Aslan commanded. "He'll lead you to Edmund."

Oreius nodded and took off after the wolf with the other Narnians following him.

"Peter, clean your sword."

Peter slowly stood up and went over to the water to clean Maugrim's blood off his sword. Once his sword was like new, he knelt down before Aslan. Aslan placed his paw on Peter's shoulder.

"Rise, Sir Peter Wolf's-Bane, Knight of Narnia."

Elaine met Peter's eyes and sent him a small nod, silently telling him that she believed in him, even if he didn't believe in himself.

As the Pevensies left to return to camp, Elaine lingered behind. Aslan noticed and approached her.

"Forgive me, Aslan," Elaine said with her head down. "I have interfered with your plan."

"My dear child, just because you are not included in the prophecy does not mean that you do not have a purpose in Narnia."

"I don't understand."

"You have helped the Pevensies greatly on their journey here. Especially Peter. There are reasons for why you are here that may not be clear yet."

"But…the prophecy…"

"The prophecy only reveals a portion of the future. Your prophecy is merely unwritten."

Elaine looked at him and thought about what he was saying to her. The way he spoke made her begin to question all of her fears and doubts. She was still confused about why she was here, but at least she knew now that her presence was not going to get in the way of the Pevensies' destinies.


	7. Edmund Returns

That night, Elaine was sitting with her knees pressed close to her chest on the hill where Aslan had spoken with her and Peter earlier. It was pretty dark outside, but she didn't really mind.

"Mind if I join you?" Peter asked.

Elaine smiled and motioned for him to sit next to her.

"Are you alright, Elaine?"

Elaine sighed a little. "You're going to think I'm strange."

"Considering what I've been through in the past two days, I highly doubt that."

She gave him a small smile. "I told you about my father on the first night we were together. Back at the Professor's house, I had a picture of my mother and father together. It was taken just a couple months after their marriage. He's kissing her cheek, and she looks like she's on top of the world. It's all I have left of my father. I used to talk to the picture at night...to my parents...and I felt like they heard everything I ever had to say. It's my most cherished possession. I just…miss that picture."

"I don't think that's strange," Peter said gently. "You miss your parents and that photo is what you have to remember them by. I understand."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to unload all that on you."

"Don't apologize. I'm glad you told me."

"You did an amazing job today in your first battle, by the way. You showed that you have what it takes to do what needs to be done."

"I was terrified."

"I believe you. But you won. You can do what Aslan has asked of you."

"Elaine, killing a wolf and leading an army are two very different things."

"You killed that wolf with absolutely no training at all. Now imagine what you can do once you learn how to use that sword and shield properly."

Peter silenced a bit, contemplating her words.

"Peter, you must remember that you are not alone. When you go into battle, you will have hundreds of people behind you to battle with you. And I will be right there next to you to help you. I promise."

They continued looking out at the scenery before them, and Elaine rested her head on Peter's shoulder. The two of them sat in comfortable silence as they thought about what lay ahead of them.

* * *

Early the next morning, Elaine exited her tent and found Peter looking at something in the distance. When she followed his gaze, she saw that Aslan was speaking with Edmund, who had his head down in shame. She could only imagine how he must be feeling at the moment.

Susan and Lucy soon joined them.

"Edmund!" Lucy cried with delight as she began to run to him.

Peter quickly stopped her from progressing, knowing she couldn't interrupt Aslan's conversation.

Hearing Lucy's cry, Aslan led Edmund down to where the others were.

"What's done is done," Aslan said to them all firmly. "There is no need to speak to Edmund about what is past." Aslan walked away from them as Edmund awkwardly stood in front of them. Elaine noticed just how haggard he looked. She had no idea what he had been through, but it was clear that it had taken a great toll on him.

"Hello," he said quietly.

Lucy smiled and hugged her brother. It took a second, but then Edmund gratefully hugged her back. Susan and Elaine followed suit and hugged the boy as well, thankful he was safe.

"Are you all right?" Susan asked.

"I'm a little tired."

"Get some sleep," Peter said.

Edmund's face looked guilty, sure that Peter was still mad at him for everything that had happened. Elaine looked at Peter pointedly. His brother was safe and sound, and he needed to show that, despite how he felt about Edmund's actions.

"And Edmund," he called. "Try not to wander off."

Edmund smiled before heading to his tent to rest.

* * *

Elaine was walking to her tent when she heard small whimpers coming from where Edmund was sleeping. She slowly walked into the tent and found the poor boy tossing and turning, his face contorted into one of pain.

"Edmund," she said softly. "Edmund, it's alright."

He suddenly gasped awake.

"It's okay," Elaine said quickly. "You're safe. You're with us."

He looked around him for a second, as if trying to remember where he was. Then he looked over to the side, unwilling to meet Elaine's eyes. "I shouldn't have gone to her," he said.

"You made a mistake. We all make them."

"But my mistake is affecting all of Narnia."

"So we fix it. What you did was wrong, I will admit that. But you've learned your lesson. The hard way. And you've been punished enough for it."

"Is Peter still mad at me?"

"I think that Peter's happy that you're safe. And that overshadows any anger he may still feel."

"Are you sure? He seemed pretty upset."

"I've been with him this whole time. And he has been worried sick about you, constantly berating himself for nearly losing you. Peter loves you, Edmund. I promise."

"Thanks, Elaine. I'm sorry I was so horrible to you back at the Professor's house."

"Water under the bridge. Now get some rest, alright? You're going to need all of your strength."

Edmund closed his eyes, and Elaine stayed by his side until he was asleep once more.

When he awoke, he was fitted into Narnian clothing as well, and they were all given something to eat. Edmund gulped down the food seeing as he hadn't had anything real to eat in days.

"Narnia's not going to run out of toast, Ed," Lucy joked.

"I'm sure they'll pack something up for the journey back," Peter said as he came over to them.

"We're going home?" Susan asked.

"You are. I promised Mum I'd keep you three safe. And I want to keep Elaine safe as well. But it doesn't mean I can't stay behind and help."

"But they need us," Lucy told him. "All five of us. Even if Elaine isn't in the prophecy, Narnia still needs her."

"Lucy, it's too dangerous. You almost drowned! Edmund was almost killed!"

"Which is why we have to stay," Edmund said quietly. Everyone turned to look at him. "I've seen what the White Witch can do…and I've helped her do it. And we can't leave these people behind to suffer for it."

Elaine's eyebrows rose at the change that had occurred in Edmund since the last time she had seen him. He had definitely matured in the short amount of time he had been with the Witch.

"I suppose that's it then," Susan said as she stood up.

"Where are you going?" Peter asked.

She smiled as she picked up her bow and arrows. "To get in some practice."

Elaine looked at the others. "I think we could all use some practice."


	8. Training

Peter and Edmund began training with Oreius, while Elaine met a faun named Killian. He trained Elaine to use her staff both to defend herself and inflict pain upon her enemies. It was very, very tiring work, and by the time Killian let her have a break, she was sore all over from being hit by his staff several times on various places of her body.

"How's the training going?" Peter asked as two Narnians gave them some clean water. Peter was dripping in sweat, no doubt going through some very intense training himself.

"About as well as yours, it looks like," Elaine smiled.

"Oreius is a tough teacher, but he knows what he's doing. He's been training Ed and I all day, teaching us how to use our swords properly, and then he showed us how to do so while riding horses."

"It sounds like you've had a very productive day."

"We're expected to go into battle soon. There's no time to waste. We barely have time to train."

"I know. But I have faith in you and the rest of your family. Perhaps later, you and I can see how each of us have fared from practice today."

"I'd like that."

"Lady Elaine!" Killian called.

"It's so weird when he calls me that," Elaine remarked to Peter.

He laughed as Killian joined them. "Your Majesty," he addressed Peter. Peter nodded, and Killian turned to Elaine. "Are you ready to resume your training, my lady?"

"I suppose. I'll see you later, Peter. Train hard."

"You too."

Seeing as most of Elaine's enemies were going to have swords and axes, Killian began training Elaine to use her staff to defend herself against those. It was even harder than fighting someone with a staff, but Killian trained her well, and her staff was built for such weapons so never once did it show any signs of breaking.

Elaine looked over not far from where she was and saw Peter and Edmund atop their horses training in sword fighting. For only a few hours of training, the boys handled their swords pretty well.

Suddenly Mr. Beaver came running over to the two of them. "Peter! Edmund!"

Edmund's horse reared up in surprise. "Whoa, horsie!" Edmund cried.

The horse came back down and said sharply, "My name is Philip."

"Oh," Edmund said sheepishly. "Sorry."

"The Witch has demanded a meeting with Aslan," Mr. Beaver said urgently. "She's on her way here!"

Elaine looked over at Killian worriedly. What was the White Witch doing here and what did she want from Aslan?

The five humans quickly went back to the camp with the others.

"Jadis, the queen of Narnia! Empress of the Lone Islands!" a dwarf called as the White Witch was carried in on a throne. All of the Narnians around her jeered, unhappy the Witch was on their territory.

Contrary to how Elaine felt around Aslan, when her eyes fell upon the White Witch, her insides went cold, as if everything had turned to ice.

She had to admit that the Witch looked different than she had initially pictured. She thought that the woman would be scary-looking with a huge black cloak or something along those lines. But this woman before her looked calm. Her dress was a beautiful light color that framed her small body, and she didn't look quite so fearsome. It was understandable that Edmund had fallen prey to her charms.

The White Witch got up from her throne and began walking towards Aslan. She looked over at Edmund who looked back at her fearfully. Elaine noticed how scared he was in her presence and gently put her arm around his shoulders protectively.

"You have a traitor in your midst, Aslan," the Witch spoke calmly.

"His offense was not against you."

"Have you forgotten the laws upon which Narnia was built?"

"Do not cite the Deep Magic to me, Witch!" Aslan growled fiercely. "I was there when it was written."

"Then you'll remember well that every traitor belongs to me. His blood is my property."

Peter unsheathed his sword and pointed it at the Witch. "Try and take him then!"

The Witch just looked at Peter and smiled. "Do you really think that mere force will deny me my right…little King?" She turned to face all the gathered Narnians. "Aslan knows that unless I have blood as the law demands, all of Narnia will be overturned and perish in fire and water." She pointed an accusing finger at Edmund. "That boy will die on the Stone Table…as is tradition."

Elaine exchanged a fearful look with all of the equally horrified Pevensies. Surely Aslan wouldn't help save Edmund and then allow him to be killed!

"You dare not refuse me," the Witch demanded of Aslan.

"Enough," Aslan said firmly. "I shall talk with you alone."

Aslan and the White Witch retreated into his tent. They were inside for what seemed like hours and hours. Everyone sat down on the grass, tortured to wait to find out if Edmund was going to live or die.

Finally, the White Witch exited the tent, and they all stood up. Edmund's breathing quickened, and Elaine once again placed her arm on him to comfort him. The Witch looked at him with satisfaction which made Elaine extremely nervous. She began walking back to her throne as Aslan exited the tent. Everyone looked to him for the answer to Edmund's fate.

"She has renounced her claim on the Son of Adam's blood."

The entire camp sighed with relief as their King was allowed to live. Susan and Elaine hugged Edmund happily.

"How do I know your promise will be kept?" the Witch asked Aslan.

In response, Aslan roared at her and she quickly sat down on her throne. The Narnians laughed at her reaction, and cheered for the life of their destined King.

Once the Witch had left their grounds, Peter approached Elaine. "I believe we promised to train together."

"I believe we did."

Peter and Elaine went to the hill where they had talked the night before. Several Narnians gathered to watch the spar between the future King and the additional female, Killian and Oreius included. They desired to see how their students had fared over the course of the day.

Elaine watched Peter's movements carefully as he did the same with her. They moved around in a circle for a moment, each daring the other to make the first move.

Peter moved first and went in for the attack. Elaine easily blocked his attack with her staff, and from there, the two of them went at each other. Attacks were thrown and blocks were made as each tried to defeat the opponent. As their spar went on for much longer than anticipated, several more Narnians joined to watch. Everyone watching became more and more invested, curious to see who would come out victorious.

With one last attack, Elaine took her staff and swept it under Peter's feet which caused him to lose his grip on his sword and fall to the ground. Elaine kicked the sword away from him and pointed her staff at his throat, both of them breathing heavily from the sheer exertion of their fight.

The Narnians began cheering at Elaine's victory. Though the future King was defeated, it was clear that he had the will, strength, and stamina to go into battle with them.

Elaine held out her hand and helped Peter up off the ground. "Good fight."

"Same to you."

Killian came over to Elaine. "That was wonderful, my lady. I'm very impressed."

"Thank you. I had a good teacher," she smiled.


	9. Aslan's Death

That night, Elaine was asleep in her tent when a noise outside woke her up. She drowsily got out of bed and saw Aslan's shadow pass by. Wondering why he was out in the woods instead of in his own tent, she put on her green cloak and quietly left. She ended up peeking out of her tent at the exact same time as Susan and Lucy.

"What are you doing?" Elaine asked.

"Same as you," Susan said. "We saw Aslan and wanted to know where he was going."

"Come on then, quietly."

The three girls followed the lion into the forest, trying their best not to make a sound.

Aslan paused for a second then said, "Shouldn't you three be in bed?"

The girls sheepishly looked at one another and came out in plain sight of Aslan, hiding being pointless.

"We couldn't sleep," Lucy told him.

"Please, Aslan. Couldn't we come with you?" Susan asked.

"I would be glad of the company for awhile. Thank you," Aslan said to them.

Elaine and Lucy went on one side of him while Susan went on the other. They each put one hand onto his mane as they began walking forward. Elaine could sense that something was very wrong, but she didn't understand what it was.

They walked in silence for a short while, the tension in the air very thick.

"It is time," Aslan said to the girls. "From here, I must go on alone."

"But, Aslan—" Susan started.

"You have to trust me, for this must be done. Thank you, Susan. Thank you, Lucy. Thank you, Elaine. And farewell."

Farewell? What was he talking about? What had to be done? Elaine was growing more worried by the second.

They watched Aslan walk forward deeper into the forest. Susan put her hand on Lucy's shoulder, then led the two of them to a place where they could see where Aslan was going.

All three of them were speechless at what they saw. Torches lit up a place where the White Witch's army had all gathered together with the Witch herself in front of what had to be the Stone Table.

No. No, he couldn't possibly be doing what Elaine thought he was doing.

Aslan walked through the crowd of creatures as they all growled and screeched at him. When he got to the Table, a minotaur poked him with his axe, making Aslan growl. The Witch nodded, and the minotaur knocked him over with the axe.

"Why doesn't he fight back?" Lucy asked.

"I don't know," Elaine whispered.

"Bind him!" the Witch ordered. Her minions began tying up their King. "Wait. Let him first be shaved."

The girls watched in horror as the Witch's head dwarf took out a knife and cut off part of Aslan's mane. He threw it into the air victoriously as everyone cheered. Then more of the creatures brought out their own knives and took off the rest of Aslan's mane. It wasn't enough to just sacrifice him. The Witch had to humiliate him.

"Bring him to me."

Two of the creatures roughly pulled Aslan up onto the Table. The Witch threw her arm out and immediately, everyone silenced.

After a few seconds, staffs began banging onto the ground, and soon roars and howls and screeches filled the night air once more. The Witch knelt down and spoke something to Aslan, but Elaine couldn't make out what it was. She wasn't sure she even wanted to know.

When she stood back up, she announced to her followers, "Tonight, the Deep Magic will be appeased! But tomorrow, we will take Narnia FOREVER!"

The cheers and roars got even louder as the staffs banged on the ground even faster.

The Witch looked down at Aslan. "In that knowledge, despair…" She held up the knife high above her.

Aslan looked at the three girls and Elaine met eyes with him. It felt like he was staring straight through her, seeing all her worries and fears and doubts. He didn't look scared for himself, but looked scared more for the girls. How could he be that close to death and be more scared for them? How could anyone or anything have that kind of love?

"And DIE!"

Lucy and Elaine gasped as the Witch plunged the knife into Aslan's body. Their hearts sank as his eyes closed, and he took one last exhale. The three girls hugged each other and began sobbing.

"The Great Cat…is DEAD!" the Witch yelled.

Elaine didn't think she could ever feel such hatred for one person. Her mother and father had always taught her that there was good in everyone, but looking at the Witch, she realized that her parents were incorrect.

The girls waited for the creatures to leave the Stone Table, and then they slowly came out of their hiding place and approached Aslan's body.

Tears ran down all three girls' cheeks at the sight of the lion they had once believed to be undefeatable. Lucy walked up the steps and sat next to him. Desperate to find some way to heal Aslan, she took out her cordial.

"It's too late," Susan stopped her. "He's gone." She slowly walked up the steps to the other side of him. "He must have known what he was doing."

The three girls began sobbing again as they hugged his body. It didn't seem fair that just as things started to make sense, if only a little, he was taken away from them. How were they ever going to win against the White Witch now?

They all looked up at the sound of quiet squeaking to find mice on Aslan.

"Get away!" Susan cried. "Get away, all of you!"

"No," Lucy whispered. "Look."

They realized that the mice were actually chewing away the ropes that were binding him. Susan and Lucy gently took off the ropes that acted as a muzzle, and Lucy began gently stroking his fur.

"We have to tell the others," Susan stated.

"We can't just leave him," Lucy said.

"Lucy, there's no time. They need to know."

"I'll go," Elaine told them.

"You can't go alone!"

"I promised Peter that I would be there for him no matter what. And he needs me now more than ever."

"But you can't know the way back. It was too dark to see where we were going."

"I'll just do my best."

Lucy looked up at Elaine. "The trees."

Susan and Lucy looked over at the trees that made up the dense forest.

Elaine looked back at her friends. "I'll be careful. I promise."

She left the two girls and headed back the way they had come. "Hello?" she called out to the trees. "Is anyone there? I need your help."

"What can I do for you, my lady?"

Elaine turned around and saw a figure made entirely out of pink flower petals. "I need help getting back to camp. I must inform the others of Aslan's death."

"Of course, my lady. It would be my honor."

The dryad led Elaine back to Aslan's camp, and they quietly entered into Peter and Edmund's tent. Upon hearing the noise, Peter instinctively whipped out his sword.

Elaine quickly held her hands up. "Peter, it's just me." She pointed to the dryad. "This is a friend."

"What is it?" Peter asked. His eyes adjusted and he noticed that Elaine's eyes were very red and her cheeks were puffy. "What's wrong?"

"We bring grave news from your sisters," the dryad told them.

"I'm afraid that…Aslan is dead," Elaine said. "The White Witch killed him last night."

Both boys were silent for a moment. Then Peter bolted up and went to look inside Aslan's tent.

"She's right. He's gone," he said as he exited the tent.

He numbly walked forward to the table where the battle plans were sitting with Edmund, Elaine, and Oreius nearby.

"Then you'll have to lead us," Edmund said. "Peter, there's an army out there and it's ready to follow you."

"I can't."

"Aslan believed you could. And so do I."

"We have faith in you, Peter," Elaine said. "You can lead these people."

"The Witch's army is nearing, sire," Oreius said. "What are your orders?"

For the first time, Peter accepted that he was in control, and he began hurriedly looking over all of the battle plans in front of him. Together with Elaine, the two of them made a plan and began preparing for battle with the White Witch and her army.

As Elaine went to her tent to prepare, she caught sight of her mirror. She gingerly picked it up and looked at the reflection.

"Why would Aslan willingly give himself up like that? How can we survive without him?"

The mirror flashed and showed the four Pevensies together in a throne room, ruling over Narnia. It was always their destiny to become the Kings and Queens of Narnia. Had Edmund been killed by the Witch, that destiny would have failed and all of Narnia would have fallen apart.

The image then flashed over to an image of Peter and Elaine fighting in battle. They knew exactly what they were doing, and they were actually winning.

Elaine set the mirror down with new confidence in her and Peter's abilities. The mirror had done its job.

She began putting on her armor and when she exited her tent, she knew she was ready to fight.

Elaine ended up next to Peter and Oreius right at the front. Peter was atop a unicorn while Elaine had a horse of her own.

A griffin who was acting as their scout flew down next to Peter. "They come, Your Highness, in numbers and weapons far greater than our own."

"Numbers do not win a battle," Oreius said.

"No," Peter muttered. "But I bet they help."

Everyone watched nervously as the Witch's army started towards them. Elaine's breath hitched in her throat as she realized just how many creatures made up the army. There were so, so many of them. Their odds suddenly got a lot smaller.

Peter took out his sword and held it high above him. This seemed to raise the army's spirits for they all started cheering behind them.

On the Witch's command, her army began running across the land towards Aslan's army. Peter pointed his sword forward, and a flock of griffins and birds soared above them. They flew over the Witch's army and dropped heavy rocks on them rendering many members of the army dead already.

Elaine's heartbeat quickened as she watched the army draw closer and closer.

Peter turned to Oreius. "Are you with me?"

"To the death," Oreius responded.

He then turned to Elaine. "And you?"

Elaine knew she could not hide the fear in her eyes from him, but she replied firmly, "Always."

Peter looked forward and held his sword high. "FOR NARNIA! AND FOR ASLAN!"

With a triumphant cry, Aslan's army advanced towards the Witch's army with Peter, Elaine, and Oreius in the lead.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl. Elaine closed her eyes for a second as she took in the fact that this was it. The whole journey, leaving home to meeting the Pevensies to going inside the wardrobe, had all led to this moment.

The two armies collided on the battlefield and war broke out.


	10. Battle of Beruna

Susan and Lucy remained draped over Aslan's body, feeling that if they left him, then he was really gone.

As Susan awoke, she looked around and saw that the sun was beginning to rise. She looked over at her younger sister.

"We should go."

She stepped down from the Table and took Lucy's hand.

"I'm so cold," Lucy said quietly.

Susan helped her down and lightly hugged her as they walked away from the sacrificial place. They took one last look at Aslan lying lifeless on the Table.

Suddenly, the ground shook beneath them, and a loud crack rang out.

Lucy turned to look at the Table. "Susan!" she cried.

Susan looked behind them and saw that the Stone Table had cracked in half and Aslan was gone!

"Where's Aslan?" Lucy asked crestfallen.

"What have they done?"

The sun began to rise higher in the sky as a shadow came into view.

It couldn't be…

The shadow blocked out the sun and revealed Aslan alive and well!

"ASLAN!" both girls exclaimed as they ran up to either side of them. Aslan laughed kindly as the both of them buried their faces in his mane.

"But we saw the knife," Susan said. "The Witch…"

"If the Witch knew the true meaning of sacrifice, she might have interpreted the Deep Magic differently. That when a willing victim who has committed no treachery is killed in a traitor's stead, the Stone Table would crack and even death itself will turn backwards."

"Elaine sent the news that you were dead. She, Peter, and Edmund will have gone to war."

Lucy took out her dagger. "We have to help them."

Aslan put his paw on her hand. "We will, dear one, but not alone. Climb on my back. We have far to go and little time to get there. And you may want to cover your ears."

Susan and Lucy covered their ears as Aslan let out a tremendous roar to let all of creation know that he was alive and he was still the King of Narnia.

* * *

Elaine used her staff skillfully against her enemies, remembering everything Killian had taught her. She blocked several attacks towards her and knocked down many creatures that made up the Witch's army.

After much fighting, Elaine swiftly dismounted from her horse and skillfully defeated every opponent that attacked her. In fact, there was not one person who used a staff on the battlefield better than Elaine. She did some impressive maneuvers with the staff that not only looked intimidating, but also saved her life.

Elaine and Peter watched as a phoenix soared through the air and then lit a wall of fire on the ground that separated the two armies. The Narnians all began cheering. However, their victory was short-lived as the White Witch burst through the fire wall.

Now that Elaine could see the Witch up close, she realized what she was wearing around her neck. Aslan's mane! The fire of hatred inside her grew even stronger in a way she didn't even know was possible.

"Fall back!" Peter shouted. "Draw them to the rocks!"

Elaine obeyed his request, and the whole of the army began retreating to a better territory to fight. She whistled for her horse and hopped back on.

She looked ahead of her and saw Peter quickly riding back where the rocks were. Suddenly, his unicorn was shot with an arrow and Peter went flying forward off the unicorn's back.

"Peter!" Elaine screamed. She dismounted from her own horse and ran over to him. "Are you alright?"

She helped him back up, and they looked over to find the Witch getting closer to them.

"Stop!" Peter yelled as Oreius and a rhino charged past him and Elaine.

They watched as the rhino was defeated and Oreius was grabbed by a minotaur. After shaking off the minotaur, Oreius grabbed a sword and went straight for the Witch. There was a bright flash, and Oreius was turned into stone.

The battle continued to rage on, and soon Edmund joined Peter and Elaine in the fighting. The White Witch was a good fighter, even though in Elaine's opinion, she was cheating by using that stupid staff that turned things to stone.

Peter looked around and saw Aslan's army quickly losing ground against the Witch's. Two griffins flew above them, but the Witch just stabbed one and turned the other into stone where it smashed against a rock.

"Edmund!" Peter screamed to his brother. "There's too many! Get out of here! Get the girls, and get them home!"

"You heard him!" Mr. Beaver said, pulling Edmund away. "Let's go!"

"Elaine! Go with him!"

"I am not leaving you to fight them by yourself!" she yelled over the fight she was in with one of the orcs. "I made you a promise!"

As Elaine and Peter continued to fight, they could feel themselves growing weaker. Neither of them knew how long they had been fighting, but it had been too long and they were losing strength.

A flash of blue light with a crack that sounded like thunder rang out across the battlefield, causing Elaine and Peter to turn their heads. They saw Edmund fighting the Witch, and he had just broken her magical staff. No longer was she able to turn anyone into stone.

The White Witch knocked Edmund's sword out of his hands and then stabbed him in the gut with the broken staff.

"EDMUND!" Peter and Elaine screamed.

Edmund gasped and collapsed onto the ground. All of Peter's strength and then some returned in a matter of seconds, and he took out every attacker that came his way as he fought his way to his brother's murderer.

Elaine ran over to Edmund and tried to stop the blood spilling from the large wound. When one of the creatures came to attack her, she skillfully defended herself and Edmund from the attacker. She wielded her staff in a way that would make Killian and Aslan equally proud.

"Just hang on, Edmund!" Elaine said firmly.

She caught glimpses of Peter battling the White Witch furiously in between her own fights. For someone who never seemed to really lift a finger, the Witch was an extremely talented fighter even without her magical staff. As her and Peter's swords clanged together, it was hard to tell who was going to win.

Elaine's heart nearly stopped when she heard a loud growl.

No. It wasn't possible...

She looked up to the cliff to find Aslan, alive and well as he gave out a tremendous roar that reached to her very core and filled her with a kind of hope that she had never experienced before.

She didn't know how he could be alive, but she didn't care at all. In Narnia, anything was possible.

Elaine gasped and smiled as she saw hundreds of Narnians come behind Aslan with Susan and Lucy in front. They all ran onto the battlefield and the tables quickly began turning in their favor.

The White Witch was now furious at Aslan's return, and she showed it as she resumed her fight with Peter. Her movements were sharper and more intense in such a way that Peter could not hold her off for long.

The Witch knocked his feet out from under him making him lose his sword, and she jammed her own sword into his armor which must've grazed his skin because he screamed in pain.

"Peter!" Elaine cried.

When he tried to get up, he found that he was pinned to the ground. He defended himself with his shield, but the Witch knocked that out of his grasp as well. She held her sword up for the killing blow, but before she could deliver it, Aslan ran to her and pounced on her, knocking her several feet away.

Elaine watched with disgust, yet at the same time relief as Aslan defeated her once and for all.

Aslan turned and looked at Peter. "It is finished."

Relief washed over her. The battle was over and they had won. Against all odds, they had won the right to Narnia and the prophecy was fulfilled. But they were not in the clear yet.

"Peter!" Lucy and Susan called.

Lucy ran up and hugged her brother while Susan nervously looked around.

"Where's Edmund?" she asked.

"Over here!" Elaine called. The three siblings ran over to the youngest brother in a panic. Elaine's hands were covered in blood from her attempts to stop the bleeding.

"Edmund!" Lucy screamed.

Susan took out an arrow and shot an approaching dwarf that Elaine had not noticed. Then she took off Edmund's helmet and rested his head in her lap. Lucy sat on the other side of him and took out her cordial. She gently tilted the bottle and allowed one drop to enter Edmund's mouth.

Edmund went limp.

Elaine's heart went out to her friends as she looked at their sobbing faces. She couldn't begin to understand how they felt. She considered Edmund a friend, but they all shared a bond that she didn't know.

Suddenly, Edmund coughed and his eyes opened. Everyone smiled and laughed with relief that their brother and friend was alive.

Peter took Edmund in his arms and pulled him into a tight hug. Elaine smiled at the sign of affection. She had never once seen Peter so thankful for his brother, and it was amazing to see just how much their bond had strengthened in their time here.

"When are you going to learn to do as you're told?" Peter laughed.

Edmund smiled and Lucy and Susan joined in on the group hug. Elaine watched with overwhelming happiness that the siblings were now finally getting along and realizing how important they all were to one another.

When they broke away from each other, they all turned to look at Aslan. He breathed on one of the statues the Witch had created and immediately, the stone began to melt away and the creature returned to his living state.

Lucy stood up and looked at her cordial. With a smile to the others, she ran off and began healing everyone else who had been wounded during the battle.

"Elaine," Edmund said. She turned to look at him. "Thank you."

"Of course."


	11. Coronations

Coronation day.

Two words Elaine never thought would apply to her. Well, maybe it wasn't directly to her, but the point still stood.

Elaine looked in the mirror in her new room at Cair Paravel. She was wearing a green velvet dress with long loose sleeves that had a gold ribbon around her elbows. More gold ribbons criss-crossed on the front from her chest down to her waist. Her hair was curled with half of it pulled back to frame her face better.

It had been a long few days since the battle. Most of her time had been spent tending to wounded soldiers as they waited for Lucy to come along with her cordial. She had been more than grateful when they had arrived at Cair Paravel and she was able to take a nice long rest.

And now…it was time to watch her friends become who they were always destined to be.

"My lady," a voice on the other side of the door said as she knocked. "Are you ready for the coronation?"

"Yes, Mara," Elaine said to her maid. "I'm ready."

Mara led her to the Throne Room where all of the Narnians were preparing for the Pevensies' entrance. Oreius, restored from his stone form, stood among the ranks of centaurs in two lines who all held their swords proudly in front of them. The rest of the creatures stood as part of the audience as Narnian history was about to be made.

A horn sounded and Aslan walked into the Throne Room with the two girls on one side and the two boys on the other. They walked down the line made for them by the centaurs as everyone watched with rapt attention. Elaine could not have been happier for her friends.

Lucy looked around her in awe, Susan did her best to look professional, Edmund looked absolutely ecstatic, and Peter stood regal.

"To the glistening Eastern Sea, I give you Queen Lucy the Valiant," Aslan announced.

The Beavers walked forward each holding two crowns on small blue pillows with Mr. Tumnus walking behind them. He took the first silver crown and put it on Lucy's head.

"To the great Western Wood, King Edmund the Just. To the radiant Southern Sun, Queen Susan the Gentle. And to the clear Northern Sky, I give you King Peter the Magnificent."

Elaine felt goosebumps rise up on her arms as the Pevensies sat down on their thrones. They had done it. They had fulfilled the prophecy.

Aslan turned to face the Pevensies. "Once a King or Queen of Narnia, always a King or Queen. May your wisdom grace us until the stars rain down from the heavens."

"Long live King Peter!" everyone, including Elaine, said in unison. "Long live King Edmund! Long live Queen Susan! Long live Queen Lucy!"

Following the coronation, a great banquet was held for the new Kings and Queens.

"Killian," Elaine called to her trainer.

"My lady," Killian nodded.

"I wanted to thank for all of your help. If it wasn't for you and your training, I wouldn't be alive right now."

"It was an honor to train you, my lady. I look forward to more lessons in the future."

Elaine smiled as he went off to talk with others.

"My dear Elaine," she heard behind her. She turned to find Peter with a hand extended towards her. "May I have this dance?"

"I would be delighted."

She took Peter's hand and he led her to the floor. The orchestra began playing a simple waltz and Elaine let Peter lead her in the same dance that all the others on the dance floor were doing as well.

They pressed their hands together and took small steps to the sides and in circles. It was a moment Elaine would cherish forever.

Once the party ended, Elaine began to head back to her room to get some well-earned sleep.

"Elaine!"

She turned to find Peter walking towards her. "Your Majesty," she said with a small curtsy.

"No," Peter said, holding his hand out. "None of that, please."

Elaine let out a small laugh. "As you wish."

"I wanted to give you something."

"Peter, you don't have to give me anything. After all, it is your coronation day."

"This is to thank you for all you've done for me and my family. You've been an amazing friend ever since we first met, and you've done nothing but try to protect us. You trained hard and you fought by my side in the biggest and hardest moment of my life. And no matter what, you have shown that you will stop at nothing to make sure that those you love are safe."

"Where exactly are you going with this?"

"As a thank you, I got you this."

To Elaine's utter shock, Peter pulled out a drawing that was an exact replica of the picture of her mother and father that she loved so much. Her hand went to her mouth as tears sprang to her eyes.

"Oh, Peter. How…how did you do this?"

"Your mirror. I saw the picture in it and I asked one of the Narnians to draw it. And he made it look just as good as the original photograph."

"Yes. He even captured my mother's happiness. Peter…this is the best gift anyone's ever given me. Thank you."

When she looked up at him, she met his eyes and realized that they had nothing but affection in them. She let out a small laugh.

"What is it?" Peter asked.

"It's just…something Aslan said to me before. Suddenly, it all makes sense."

They drew closer to one another and shared a beautiful and innocent kiss. Peter snaked his arms around Elaine's waist to pull her closer to him. She rested her hands on his shoulders and felt that nothing in this world or any other would ever be able to erase what she felt for Peter Pevensie, High King of Narnia.

* * *

Elaine walked forward to where the now five thrones were. Susan, Edmund, and Lucy were standing in front of their respective thrones while Peter stood forward in the middle. Mara watched her mistress with utter happiness throughout the procession.

The eyes of all of the Narnians were on her, yet Elaine didn't feel nervous. She held her back erect, but she couldn't stop herself from smiling as she met Peter's very proud eyes.

When she reached him, she knelt down in front of him. Peter took the golden crown that Mr. Tumnus was holding. Having looked into Elaine's mirror to receive his answer, he held the crown over her with the utmost confidence in his words.

"To the ancient Northwestern Ocean, I give you Queen Elaine…the Faithful." He gently placed the crown upon her head. She looked up at him and smiled broadly. He took her hand and he helped her stand up. "Once a Queen of Narnia, always a Queen. May your wisdom grace us until the stars rain down from the heavens."

Elaine kissed her husband as all of the Narnians began cheering, "Long live King Peter! Long live Queen Elaine! Long live King Edmund! Long live Queen Susan! Long live Queen Lucy!"

The only time Elaine had ever been happier was on her wedding day when she became Elaine Pevensie.

* * *

On a much-needed break from their royal duties and constant training, the Pevensies were all out on horseback on the ever famous quest to capture the White Stag. Rumor had it that if one captured the Stag, the person was granted one wish. Ever since they had heard of such a thing, all of them had tried their best to catch the animal, but it eluded them each time.

But all the same, it didn't matter to them. Horseback riding was one of their favorite pastimes and it allowed them all to get out of the castle and just have some fun.

Elaine smiled as she and Peter rode next to each other. As the years had passed, their love for each other had grown stronger with each passing moment, and Peter made sure that his wife knew just how much he loved her. It was even better than the marriage she had always envisioned when looking at the photograph of her parents together.

"Where's Edmund?" Lucy asked, noticing they were one Pevensie short.

The four of them rode back and finally found Edmund where he and Philip had stopped.

"Come on, Ed," Susan said.

"Just catching my breath," Edmund told her.

"Well, that's all we'll catch at this rate."

"I thought you wanted to catch the White Stag most of all," Elaine laughed.

"What did he say again, Susan?" Lucy asked.

"'You girls wait in the castle. I'll get the Stag myself!'" she mimicked Edmund.

The five of them began laughing at Susan's playfulness. Then they looked over and noticed something peculiar. Each of the Pevensies dismounted from their horses.

"What's this?" Peter asked, looking up at the lit lamppost. "It seems familiar."

"As if from a dream," Susan remarked.

"Or a dream of a dream," Lucy added. A look of realization crossed her face. "Spare Oom." She began to wander off in another direction.

"Lucy!" Peter called as they followed her.

"Not again!" Susan muttered.

"Lu?"

"Come on!" Lucy said eagerly.

They continued to follow Lucy when they realized the space was getting smaller and smaller and they were no longer running into trees.

"These aren't branches," Peter groaned.

"They're coats," Susan whispered.

Everyone started groaning as they were running into one another.

"Susan, you're on my foot!"

"Peter, move off!"

"Will you get off me?"

"Stop shoving!"

"I'm not on your toe!"

Suddenly, everyone fell out of the wardrobe and onto a hard wooden floor. They all looked at each other in shock as they realized they had reverted back to their younger selves from when they had first gone inside the wardrobe.

The door unlatched and in walked the Professor. "Oh," he said. "There you are. What were you all doing in the wardrobe?"

Everyone met eyes with one another and lightly smiled. How could they ever answer such a question?

"You wouldn't believe us if we told you, sir," Peter said.

The Professor tossed Peter the ball they had lost before and smiled. "Try me."

Everyone looked at one another with unexplainable expressions. The Professor raised his eyebrows and walked out, knowing that they would explain everything to him soon enough.

"Peter," Elaine whispered. "Look."

The two of them looked at their hands and they saw that they were still wearing their Narnian wedding rings. It was the only thing from Narnia that had come back with them.

Elaine knew then that their time in Narnia was not over.

* * *

 **Keep a lookout for Part 2 which will posted in a few days!  
**


End file.
